Thesis (M.App.Sc.) - Carleton University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 112-114). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (MScEng)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis discusses the design of a dual circularly polarized single element antenna with special emphasis on achieving a wide bandwidth and high polarization isolation. The aim of the study is to produce an antenna for transmission of colour video signals between a ground station and a low earth orbit satellite. Microstrip patch antennas are suitable for satellite applications because they are light weight, conformal and have a thin profile. However, the antennas' inherent naITOW bandwidth is one of their major drawbacks. The aperture coupled microstrip patch antenna boasts of a much-improved bandwidth over the traditional single layer microstrip antenna and the freedom of using separate substrates for the patch and the feeding network. Hence the designed single element antenna is aperture coupled. To achieve dual circular polarization with good polarization purity, the antenna had a crossed slot aperture with a balanced feed. The feed network was designed on a single layer. The design was executed in two steps using IE3D moment of methods simulation software: design of the radiating part, and design of the feed part. Each part was simulated and optimized on its own before the two were combined, simulated and optimized again. Parameters used in the antenna optimization were: the substrates' thicknesses and dielectric constants, patch and aperture dimensions, and the feed line width and offset. The designed antenna was built and measured. Initial measurements of S-parameters yielded unacceptable results, especially for S22 and S21, and so an investigation into the matter was conducted. That led to the sizes of the feed and reflector planes being extended. Absorbing material was used between the parallel feed and reflector planes because some power was, to a lesser extent, still escaping, due to the fact that the planes were fmite. Measurement results demonstrated reasonable agreement with the simulation. The final antenna had a reflection coefficient of less than -10 dB for the entire operating band of 400 MHz centred on 3 GHz, an isolation of approximately -15 dB in the operating band and a gain of 2 dBi and I dBi for Ports 1 and 2, respectively, at 3 GHz. These results, especially the gain, are influenced by the back radiation and the finite sizes of the feed and reflector planes. It is therefore recommended that an enclosed cavity be used at the back of the antenna and a 'dogbone' aperture be used to minimize back radiation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die tesis omskryf die ontwerp van 'n tweevoudige sikuler gepolariseerde enkel-element antenne met spesiale klem op wye bandwydte en hoe polariserings isolasie. Die doel van hierdie studie is om 'n antenne vir uitsending van kleur video seine tussen 'n grond stasie en 'n omnentelingsatelliet daar te stel. Mikrostrook plakantennes is gepas vir satelliet toepassings weens hulle ligte gewig en dun profiel. Die antenne se gepaardgaande nou bandwydte is egter een van hulle grootste nadele. Die gleufgekoppelde mikrostrook plakantenne gee egter 'n baie beter bandwydte as die tradisionele enkellaag mikrostrook plakantenne asook die vryheid om verskillende substrate vir die plak en die voernetwerkte gebruik. Vir hierdie redes daar besluit om die enkel-element antenne sleufgekoppeld te maak. Om tweevoudige sikuler gepolariseerde met goeie polarisasie suiwerheid te kry, moes 'n kruisvonnige gleuf met 'n gebalanseerde voer ontwerp word. Die voernetwerk was op 'n enkellaag ontwerp. Die ontwerp was in twee fases in IE3D momentmetode simulasie sagteware gedoen: ontwerp van die stralings gedeelte, en ontwerp van die voer gedeelte. Elke gedeelte word afsonderlik gesimuleer en geoptimiseer voordat die twee saam gesimuleer en geoptimiseer word. Parameters wat gebruik word in die antenne optimiseering is: dikte van substraat en dielektriese konstante, plak en gleuf grootes, en voer lynwydte en afwyking. Die ontwerpde antenne is gebou en gemeet. Aanvanklike metings van S-parameters het onaanvaarbare resultate gel ewer, vera I vir S22 en S21,dus is daar besluit om die redes daarvoor te ondersoek. Dit het daartoe gelei dat die voer- en reflector vlakte groter gemmak is. Absorbeer material is tussen die parallel voer- en reflector vlakke gebruik aangesien steeds drywing verloor is weens die eindige vlakke. Meting resultate het taarnlike goed met die simulasies vertoon. Die finale antenne het 'n weerkaatskoeffisient laer as -10 dB getoon vir die volle bandwydte van 400 MHz gesentreerd rondom 3 GHz, 'n isolasie van ongeveer -15 dB in die bandwydte en 'n aanwins van 2 dBi en I dBi vir onderskeidelik Poorte I en 2 by 3 GHz. Hierdie resultate veral die aanwins is deur die straling na agter beinvloed en die eindige grootes van die voer- en reflector vlakke. Dit word om hierdie rede dus voorgestel dat 'n geslote holte aan die rugkant van die antenne gebruik word en dat 'n "dogbone" gleuf gebruik word om straling na agter te minimeer.

Thesis (Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / This research report discusses feasible designs of conformal antennas that provide a proof of concept for the French South African Institute of Technology’s future needs. The design is to be used in forthcoming space missions and the intention is to mount the antenna on the surface of a spacecraft. Hence, a low profile is mandatory along with good circular polarisation radiation characteristics. Microstrip patch antennas have been chosen for this purpose simply because they have low profile and conform to most structures, thus fulfilling the requirements stated above. All the designs that are featured in this thesis were modelled and validated using the electromagnetic simulation software FEKO and prototypes were built and tested. The simulations and measured results are supplemented by theory. Sometimes it can be challenging to design and develop an antenna that fulfils the required performance goals given the size and weight restrictions that are specified for nano-satellite technology. Therefore, the first phase of this project finds a good balance between the criteria set for CubeSat platforms and antenna performance. The second phase is validation. Single patch antennas and a sequential rotated patch array were designed, built and tested. The sequential rotated patch array offers considerable improvements in performance when compared to single patch antennas. For instance, the 3 dB axial ratio bandwidth increased to 9.6 % from 2 % when a sequential rotated array was used. The CubeSat normally flies in the inclined regions of the low Earth orbit (LEO). This area has high-energy auroral electron fluxes, in which the high-density electrons build up on ungrounded surfaces of spacecraft and cause discharge arcing. The discharge can affect the satellite operation and, in the worst case, cause permanent damage to the components. A mitigation technique by means of a bleeding path provides a quick route to ground and the space-qualified material that is used will ensure that the antenna is robust enough to survive this.

The design of antenna arrays involves, amongst others, the selection of the array elements and geometry, as well as the element excitations. The feeding network to obtain the desired excitations can become quite complex, and hence expensive. One possible alternative would be to make use of micros trip wire-grid antenna arrays. These arrays are composed of staggered interconnected rectangular loops of dimensions a half¬wavelength by a wavelength (in the presence of the dielectric). It is because the short sides are considered to be discrete elements fed via micros trip transmission lines, that these antennas are viewed as arrays. While considerable success has been achieved in the design of these antennas, published work has been either of an entirely experimental nature or based on approximate (albeit clever) network models which do not allow for fine control of the array element excitations or off-centre-frequency computations generally. It is the purpose of this thesis to perform an almost rigorous numerical analysis of these arrays in order to accurately predict their element excitations. Models used to study microstrip antennas range from simplified ones, such as transmission-line models up to more sophisticated and accurate integral-equation models. The mixed-potential integral equation formulation is one of these accurate models which allows for the analysis of arbitrarily shaped microstrip antennas with any combination of frequency and dielectric thickness. The model treats the antenna as a single entity so that physical effects such as radiation, surface waves, mutual coupling and losses are automatically included. According to this formulation, the microstrip antenna is modelled by an integral equation which is solved using the method of moments. By far the most demanding part of the integral equation analysis is its actual numerical implementation. For this reason a complete description of the numerical implementation of the formulation is given in this thesis. To verify the accuracy of the implementation, rectangular microstrip patch antennas were analysed and surface current distributions were shown to compare favourably with published results. The formulation is then applied to the analysis of micros trip wire-grid antenna arrays which makes it possible to accurately predict surface current distributions on these arrays. Radiation patterns are determined directly from computed current distributions in the presence of the dielectric substrate and groundplane, and are essentially exact except for finite groundplane effects. To verify theoretically predicted results for wire-grid antenna arrays, several arrays were fabricated and actual radiation patterns were measured. Good correspondence between measured and predicted co-polar radiation patterns was found, while the overall cross¬polarization behaviour in cases with large groundplanes could also be predicted. The fact that numerical experimentation can be performed on wire-grid antenna arrays to examine element excitations, means that it is now possible to carefully design for some desired aperture distribution. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / unrestricted

This dissertation investigates a simple LC-matching network for the impedance bandwidth enhancement of microstrip patch antennas. Wideband impedance matching is a standard practice for active circuits. Simple impedance matching of antennas is also quite common, but data on wideband impedance matching of antennas is not found very much in the open literature. The matching circuit presented consists out of a resonant LC-circuit with a quarterwave matching line as part of the design. Results for a number or experimental antennas, on which the new technique was applied, are included in the report. A well-defined design procedure is also presented, and results in a relatively small circuit to implement. It is shown that the antenna VSWR bandwidth could be improved to more than double the original size in most of the antennas investigated. / Dissertation (M Eng (Electronic Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / unrestricted

no / Reconfigurable beam steering using circular disc microstrip patch antenna with a ring slotis proposed. The overall dimension of the antenna is 5.4×5.4 mm2 printed on a 0.504 mm thick, Rogers RT5870 substrate with relative permittivity 2.3 and loss tangent 0.0012. The designed antenna operates at the expected 5G frequency band 60 GHz with a central coaxial probe feed. TwoNMOS switches are configured to generate three different beam patterns. Activating each switch individually results in a near 70 degree shift in the main beam direction, whereas the frequency characteristics are unchanged. The power gains are between 3.9 dB and 4.8dB for the three states of switches configurations. Simulated results in terms of return loss, peak gains and radiation pattern are presented and show a reasonable agreement at the expected 60 GHz bandfor 5G applications. / The published journal webpage is no longer available.

Yes / This paper presented a new circular polarization reconfigurable antenna for 5G wireless communications. The antenna, containing a semicircular slot, was compact in size and had a good axial ratio and frequency response. Two PIN diode switches controlled the reconfiguration for both the right-hand and left-hand circular polarization. Reconfigurable orthogonal polarizations were achieved by changing the states of the two PIN diode switches, and the reflection coefficient |S11| was maintained, which is a strong benefit of this design. The proposed polarization-reconfigurable antenna was modeled using the Computer Simulation Technology (CST) software. It had a 3.4 GHz resonance frequency in both states of reconfiguration, with a good axial ratio below 1.8 dB, and good gain of 4.8 dBic for both modes of operation. The proposed microstrip antenna was fabricated on an FR-4 substrate with a loss tangent of 0.02, and relative dielectric constant of 4.3. The radiating layer had a maximum size of 18.3 18.3 mm2, with 50 W coaxial probe feeding. / European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement H2020-MSCA-ITN-2016 SECRET-722424.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate a novel method to develop broadband microstrip (patch) antennas using substrates containing photonic crystals. Photonic crystals are a class of periodic dielectric, metallic, or composite structures that when introduced to an electromagnetic signal can exhibit a forbidden band of frequencies (or bandgap) in which the incident signal destructively interferes and thus is unable to propagate. It is proposed that such photonic crystals will reduce surface waves and prohibit the formation of substrate modes, which are commonly known inhibitors of patch antenna designs. By reducing or eliminating the effects of these electromagnetic inhibitors with photonic crystals, a broadband response can be obtained from inherently narrowband antennas. In addition, it is also proposed that the behavior of the photonic crystals will lead to a reduction in pattern sidelobes resulting in improvements in radiation pattern front-to-back ratio and overall antenna efficiency. This research is verified through analytical simulations and experimental investigations in the Virginia Tech anaechoic chamber. / Master of Science

No / Radiation efficiency of antennas is shown to be measurable by a modified radiometric technique where the antenna's physical temperature is varied, rather than the noise temperature of its surroundings. The method is accurate, flexible and much more convenient for routine use. A means of avoiding errors caused by temperature-dependent antenna impedance is described. The accuracy of the method is verified by measuring the radiation efficiency of a horn antenna with a 3 dB attenuator to simulate a 50% efficient antenna, and by using microstrip patch antennas, whose measured efficiencies compared well with values computed from a transmission-line model.

No description available.